Using e-beam nanolithography, the current injection/transport area in organic light-emitting diodes(OLEDs) was confined into a narrow linear structure with a minimum width of 50 nm. This caused suppression of Joule heating and partial separation of polarons and excitons, so the charge density where the electroluminescent efficiency decays to the half of the initial value (J0) was significantly improved. A device with a narrow current injection width of 50 nm exhibited a J0 that was almost two orders of magnitude higher compared with that of the unpatterned OLED.

For hybrid light emitting devices(LEDs) consisting of GaNquantum wells and colloidalquantum dots, it is necessary to explore the physical mechanisms causing decreases in the quantum efficiencies and the energy transfer efficiency between a GaNquantum well and CdSe quantum dots. This study investigated the electro-luminescence for a hybrid LED consisting of colloidalquantum dots and a GaNquantum well patterned with photonic crystals. It was found that both the quantum efficiency of colloidalquantum dots on a GaNquantum well and the energy transfer efficiency between the patterned GaNquantum well and the colloidalquantum dots decreased with increases in the driving voltage or the driving time. Under high driving voltages, the decreases in the quantum efficiency of the colloidalquantum dots and the energy transfer efficiency can be attributed to Auger recombination, while those decreases under long driving time are due to photo-bleaching and Auger recombination.

Using an optical parametric oscillation laser as the excitation source, the dependence of the saturable absorption of multiple-layer graphene upon photonenergy is investigated and, in all cases, the saturation intensity is lower for lower excitation photonenergy. This result experimentally proves the hourglass shape of the energy band of graphene, which is a well-known theoretical deduction from first principles. The modulation depth increases from 1.5% to 5.1% when the layer number increases from a monolayer to 5–7 layers and, at the same time, the saturation intensity decreases with increasing number of layers. The results demonstrate that, as a saturable absorber of a pulsed laser, graphene can more easily achieve optical modulation in the low energy region, i.e., the infrared waveband.

The emission properties of GeSn heterostructurepin diodes have been investigated. The devices contain thick (400–600 nm) Ge1−ySnyi-layers spanning a broad compositional range below and above the crossover Sn concentration yc where the Ge1−ySny alloy becomes a direct-gap material. These results are made possible by an optimized device architecture containing a single defected interface thereby mitigating the deleterious effects of mismatch-induced defects. The observed emission intensities as a function of composition show the contributions from two separate trends: an increase in direct gap emission as the Sn concentration is increased, as expected from the reduction and eventual reversal of the separation between the direct and indirect edges, and a parallel increase in non-radiative recombination when the mismatch strains between the structure components is partially relaxed by the generation of misfit dislocations. An estimation of recombination times based on the observed electroluminescence intensities is found to be strongly correlated with the reverse-bias dark current measured in the same devices.

Significant advances in atomically resolved imaging of crystals and surfaces have occurred in the last decade allowing unprecedented insight into local crystal structures and periodicity. Yet, the analysis of the long-range periodicity from the local imaging data, critical to correlation of functional properties and chemistry to the local crystallography, remains a challenge. Here, we introduce a Sliding Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) filter to analyze atomically resolved images of in-situ grown La5/8Ca3/8MnO3 (LCMO) films. We demonstrate the ability of sliding FFT algorithm to differentiate two sub-lattices, resulting from a mixed-terminated surface. Principal Component Analysis and Independent Component Analysis of the Sliding FFT dataset reveal the distinct changes in crystallography, step edges, and boundaries between the multiple sub-lattices. The implications for the LCMO system are discussed. The method is universal for images with any periodicity, and is especially amenable to atomically resolved probe and electron-microscopy data for rapid identification of the sub-lattices present.

Using the antenna-transmission acoustic-resonance technique, we measuredtemperature dependencies of mechanical resonance frequencies and attenuation of an Fe-doped GaN. A strong internal-friction peak appears during temperature change, at which reduction in frequency occurs. The peak temperature rises as frequency increases, indicating the phonon-assisted hopping conduction of carriers between Fe centers. The Arrhenius plot yields the activation energy of the hopping conduction to be 0.23 ± 0.05 eV. The frequency reduction of a quasi-plane-shear resonance mode yields the piezoelectric coefficient e15 = 0.332 ± 0.03 C/m2.

Fractal-inspired designs for interconnects that join rigid, functional devices can ensure mechanical integrity in stretchable electronic systems under extreme deformations. The bonding configuration of such interconnects with the elastomer substrate is crucial to the resulting deformation modes, and therefore the stretchability of the entire system. In this study, both theoretical and experimental analyses are performed for postbuckling of fractal serpentine interconnects partially bonded to the substrate. The deformation behaviors and the elastic stretchability of such systems are systematically explored, and compared to counterparts that are not bonded at all to the substrate.

Transition-metal-oxide based resistance random access memory (RRAM) is a promising candidate for next-generation universal non-volatile memories. Searching and designing appropriate materials used in the memories becomes an urgent task. Here, a structure with the TaO2 formula was predicted using evolutionary algorithms in combination with first-principles calculations. This triclinic structure (T-TaO2) is both energetically and dynamically more favorable than the commonly believed rutile structure (R-TaO2). The metal-insulator transition (MIT) between metallic R-TaO2 and T-TaO2(band gap: 1.0 eV) is via a Peierls distortion, which makes TaO2 a potential candidate for RRAM. The energy barrier for the reversible phase transition is 0.19 eV/atom and 0.23 eV/atom, respectively, suggesting low power consumption for the resistance switch. The present findings about the MIT as the resistance-switch mechanism in Ta-O system will stimulate experimental work to fabricate tantalum oxides based RRAM.

By employing a metal-coated central platelet and a rigid mesh electrode which is transparent to acoustic wave, we show that the membrane-type acoustic metamaterials (MAMs) can be easily tuned by applying an external voltage. With static voltage, the MAM's eigenfrequencies and therefore the phase of the transmitted wave are tunable up to 70 Hz. The MAM's vibration can be significantly suppressed or enhanced by using phase-matched AC voltage. Functionalities such as phase modulation and acoustic switch with on/off ratio up to 21.3 dB are demonstrated.

We introduce a strategy to attain reconfigurable, highly focused, subwavelength wave patterns in cellular metamaterials via electromechanical tuning of their microstructures. The metamaterial cells feature a population of auxiliary microstructural elements instrumented with piezoelectric patches connected to negative capacitance shunting circuits. By tuning the circuital characteristics of selected subsets of shunts, we relax the symmetry of the cell material property landscape, thus affecting the global directivity and enabling a plethora of wave manipulation capabilities. The acoustic reconfiguration is decoupled from other mechanical functions and is carried out without affecting the shape or the static properties of the host cellular structure.

We synthesized ZnO1−xTex alloys with Te composition x < 0.23 by using pulsed laser deposition. Alloys with x < 0.06 are crystalline with a columnar growth structure while samples with higher Te content are polycrystalline with random grain orientation. Electron microscopy images show a random distribution of Te atoms with no observable clustering. We found that the incorporation of a small concentration of Te (x ∼ 0.003) redshifts the ZnOoptical absorption edge by more than 1 eV. The minimum band gap obtained in this work is 1.8 eV for x = 0.23. The optical properties of the alloys are explained by the modification of the valence band of ZnO, due to the anticrossing interactions of the localized Te states with the ZnOvalence band extended states. Hence, the observed large band gap reduction is primarily originating from the upward shift of the valence band edge. We show that the optical data can be explained by the band anticrossing model with the localized level of Te located at 0.95 eV above the ZnOvalence band and the band anticrossing coupling constant of 1.35 eV. These parameters allow the prediction of the compositional dependence of the band gap as well as the conduction and the valence band offsets in the full composition range of ZnO1−xTex alloys.

We report the observation of an electron gas in a SiGe/Si/SiGe quantum well with maximum mobility up to 240 m2/Vs, which is noticeably higher than previously reported results in silicon-based structures. Using SiO, rather than Al2O3, as an insulator, we obtain strongly reduced threshold voltages close to zero. In addition to the predominantly small-angle scattering well known in the high-mobility heterostructures, the observed linear temperature dependence of the conductivity reveals the presence of a short-range random potential.

In this letter, the impact of stress time of pulse program operation on the resistance uniformity and endurance of resistive random access memory (RRAM) is investigated. A width-adjusting pulse operation (WAPO) method which can accurately setup and measure switching time is proposed for improving the uniformity and endurance of RRAM. Different from the traditional single pulse operation (TSPO) method in which only one wide pulse is applied in each switching cycle, WAPO method utilizes a series of pulses with the width increased gradually until a set or reset switching process is completely finished and no excessive stress is produced. Our program/erase (P/E) method can exactly control the switching time and the final resistance and can significantly improve the uniformity, stability, and endurance of RRAM device. Improving resistance uniformity by WAPO compared with TSPO method is explained through the interdependence between resistance state and switching time. The endurance improvement by WAPO operation stems from the effective avoidance of the overstress-induced progressive-breakdown and even hard-breakdown to the conductive soft-breakdown path.

La(Fe, Si)13 hydride is regarded as one of the most promising room-temperature refrigerants. However, to use the alloys in an active magnetic regenerator machine, it is vital to prepare thin refrigerants. In this work, a high H2 gas pressure of 50 MPa was employed to suppress the desorption of hydrogen atoms during the sintering process of plate-shaped La0.5Pr0.5Fe11.4Si1.6 hydrides. At 330 K, a high-density sintered thin plate shows a large magnetic-entropy change ΔSm of 15.5 J/kg K (106 mJ/cm3 K) for a field change of 2 T. The volumetric ΔSm is almost twice as large as that of bonded La(Fe,Si)13 hydrides. Favorably, hysteresis is almost absent due to the existence of micropores with a porosity of 0.69% which has been analyzed with high-resolution X-ray microtomography.

Fe1−xS (0.08 ≤ x ≤ 0.11) exhibits a simultaneous magneto-structural “λ-transition” at approximately 200 °C. Time-dependent magnetization measurements demonstrate the λ-transition can be accurately modeled by a stretched exponential function, consistent with a nucleation-free, continuous reordering of the vacancy-bearing sublattice. The experimental result is supported by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations that confirm the activation energy for the transition to be 1.1 ± 0.1 eV—representing the ironvacancy migration energy in ordered Fe1−xS. A mechanistic understanding of the λ-transition enables potential functional uses of Fe1−xS such as thermally activated magnetic memory, switches, or storage.

Using the terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, we demonstrate the spin reorientation of a canted antiferromagnetic YFeO3single crystal, by evaluating the temperature and magnetic field dependence of resonant frequency and amplitude for the quasi-ferromagnetic (FM) and quasi-antiferromagnetic modes (AFM), a deeper insight into the dynamics of spin reorientation in rare-earth orthoferrites is established. Due to the absence of 4f-electrons in Y ion, the spin reorientation of Fe sublattices can only be induced by the applied magnetic field, rather than temperature. In agreement with the theoretical predication, the frequency of FM mode decreases with magnetic field. In addition, an obvious step of spin reorientation phase transition occurs with a relatively large applied magnetic field of 4 T. By comparison with the family members of RFeO3 (R = Y3+ or rare-earth ions), our results suggest that the chosen of R would tailor the dynamical rotation properties of Fe ions, leading to the designable spin switching in the orthoferrite antiferromagnetic systems.

A sharp magnetic soliton can be created and propagated in a vertical ratchet structure based on magnetic layers with out-of-plane anisotropy using a combination of antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic interlayer couplings. This allows the use of identical magnetic layers in the stack, which simplifies the implementation of the ratchet compared to schemes which use alternating layer thicknesses. The ratchet behavior is analyzed using an Ising-macrospin approximation and conditions are derived for the propagation of a soliton, which is demonstrated experimentally. Values extracted from the experimental data for the coercivities and interlayer couplings show significant variation, which demonstrates the robustness of the soliton propagation.

Perovskite titanates such as SrTiO3 (STO) exhibit a wide range of important functional properties, including ferroelectricity and excellent photocatalytic performance. The wide optical band gap of titanates limits their use in these applications; however, making them ill-suited for integration into solar energy harvesting technologies. Our recent work has shown that by doping STO with equal concentrations of La and Cr, we can enhance visible light absorption in epitaxialthin films while avoiding any compensating defects. In this work, we explore the optical properties of photoexcited carriers in these films. Using spectroscopic ellipsometry, we show that the Cr3+dopants, which produce electronic states immediately above the top of the O 2p valence band in STO reduce the direct band gap of the material from 3.75 eV to 2.4–2.7 eV depending on doping levels. Transient reflectance spectroscopy measurements are in agreement with the observations from ellipsometry and confirm that optically generated carriers are present for longer than 2 ns. Finally, through photoelectrochemical methylene blue degradation measurements, we show that these co-doped films exhibit enhanced visible light photocatalysis when compared to pure STO.

The β phase stability in poly(vinylidene fluoride/trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] thin films was studied below 300 K using X-ray diffraction and polarization-electric-field (P-E) hysteresis loops measurements. On as-grown samples, an irreversible partial order-disorder transformation at Tβ ∼ 250 K, namely, the βrelaxation temperature, was evidenced by the appearance of an additional X-Ray diffraction peak above Tβ as well as changes on the P-E loops on heating after the first cooling. This order-disorder-like transformation which is attributed to an all-trans order to helical disorder transition is suggested to take place in defect-rich regions like crystal-amorphous interphases and/or crystalline areas with randomly distributed TrFE defect-like units.

The phase characteristics of 0.92Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-0.08BiAlO3 lead-free ceramics were investigated systematically. The loss tangent of poled sample shows a broad peak when heating to about 80 °C, i.e., depolarization temperature Td. The polarization-electric field hysteresis loops at different temperature exhibit the feature of ferroelectric (FE)- antiferroelectric (AFE) phase transition and the co-existence of FE and AFE phase. The pyroelectric coefficients curve confirms its diffusion behaviors. The initial hysteresis loop and switching current curves under Td indicate the co-existence of FE and AFE phase. The domain morphology of transmission electron microscopy supports the co-existence of FE and AFE phase. Our work not only exhibit that the FE and AFE phase characteristics of 0.92Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-0.08BiAlO3ceramics but also they may be helpful for further investigation on lead-free ceramics.

Stiffness-tunable BaTiO3/polydimethylsiloxane (BT/PDMS) dielectric elastomercomposites using dimethylsilicone oil (DMSO) as the stiffness tuner were prepared. Significant improvements in both electromechanical actuation sensitivity (0%–490%) and actuation areal strain (0%–350%) can be observed from BT/PDMS samples with DMSO, which should be mainly contributed to the physical swelling behavior. Under wide testing temperature range, the stiffness-tuned BT/PDMS composite exhibited an excellent thermal stability of both dielectric and mechanical performance. The electromechanical sensitivity of BT/PDMS composite can be effectively tuned higher than that of VHB 4910 acrylics via the addition of DMSO under in vivo temperature range (20 °C–40 °C). This simple way endows PDMS-based composites the higher performance for being applied as implantable dielectric elastomermaterials.